


All the masks are down

by plikki



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Crack with sprinkles of angst, F/M, Identity Reveal, Mr Banana
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:48:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27679634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plikki/pseuds/plikki
Summary: When Adrien commissions a Bananoir costume for emergencies from Marinette he doesn't expect he'd get to use it so soon and that him arriving to fight the akuma with it would have such repercussions.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 27
Kudos: 136
Collections: Miraculous Fanworks Anniversary 2020





	All the masks are down

**Author's Note:**

  * For [liminalshadow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/liminalshadow/gifts).



> Happy anniversary! Your prompt was chosen to be fulfilled for the [ Miraculous Fanworks Discord](https://discord.gg/mlfanworks) anniversary!   
> This started out crackish, like the prompt suggested, but took an unexpected turn. I felt compelled to add the last part to salvage it from being TOO serious, hah. I hope you like it!

Marinette was so not in the mood for that akuma. She’d just gotten home from school so she wanted to crawl under a blanket and just do nothing. Well, she could hope that this would be resolved quickly and she could get back to doing that. Where was Chat anyway?

The akuma wasn’t wasting time and she was trying to keep it away for just a minute more, just in case, but she thought that if she so much as blinked, he’d be upon her. Just then she saw a yellow blur in her line of vision and did a double take.

“Chat?” She hissed, eyeing the banana costume for a fraction of a second. 

“Bananoir,” she heard his voice and she could almost see the smirk to go with that statement. 

“What happened?”

“Well, Plagg had a little accident.” She shot him another amazed look and hm, something was not right, but her eyes quickly returned to the akuma. Surely kwamis couldn’t get hurt, they could phase through objects after all. Was he ill, the way Tikki had been that one time?

“What is it?”

“He ate too much cheese.” She could hear the embarrassment in his voice, so this wasn’t a joke but how could it be?

“I didn’t think it was possible.”

“I know! He practically inhales the stinky mass. But he was feeling all lethargic, more than usual that is, and nothing happened when I tried to transform.”

“Hm. We’ll have to look into it.” Although how it would happen when she didn’t know his identity, was a mystery. This was why it had been good to have Master Fu to deal with such matters. “This doesn’t explain why you’re here in this,” she said, gesturing to his suit and just then realising that it looked different than usual.

“I couldn’t just leave you to fight alone, m’lady!” He said, radiating indignation at the suggestion that he would leave her willingly and she couldn’t stop the fond smile from creeping onto her face. 

“You can get hurt,” she reminded him.

“It’s still worth it, being here for you!”

If she stole another glance at the suit, she’d probably be able to understand what was bugging her about the whole thing. But she was trying to keep her eyes on the akuma who was waiting for a moment of weakness to pounce. Well, maybe they needed to put an end to the standoff. 

Just then it actually got worse. Marinette heard a thump and turned around to see Mayura standing there. 

“Ladybug and..” the villain paused, looking at the banana-suited monstrosity next to her.

“Bananoir,” Chat supplied helpfully.

“Bananoir,” Mayura mouthed while her eyes never left her partner. Right, it was one thing not to have to worry about being hurt by the akuma. Although she wasn’t sure how this worked, did the akuma know not to hurt the other villain or what?

This should be easier than expected or something was what she’d expected Mayura’s next words to be. She definitely hadn’t expected her to call Chat.

“Adrien?”

Time stopped for a second as the name reached Marinette’s mind. Her eyes left the akuma and darted to Chat. Bananoir. Whatever. With practiced ease, her eyes inspected the banana costume. It was what she’d noticed in passing now amplified. She could see the little details that made it obvious it wasn’t the usual banana suit he used - she couldn’t make the eyes the same, so they were just holes through which one could see. The smile also hadn’t turned out as toothy as usual. And of course, the suit lacked the usual padding so it looked a lot more like something he’d find in a third-rate carnival costume store or something even if she was speaking of something she’d created. Overall the effect was pretty similar to the original, but since she’d been the one to make it, she knew where to look.

Well, this certainly explained why Adrien had commissioned a banana suit from her. She’d been so giddy, wanting to help, that she’d eaten up his explanation about needing it for a photoshoot of a fruit salad or something. Now that she thought about it, she snorted. It was such a hollow excuse. 

The akuma seemed as confused by the sudden lack of commotion as they were, although it was hard to say from this distance. It was destructive but had taken a step back when his ally had arrived.

Mayura was still standing frozen and it was only then that Marinette realised they were in big trouble. Her realising that it was Adrien wearing the stupid banana costume was one thing. But their enemy? Wait, how exactly did she know who he was though?

“What? Who?” Chat said in a poor attempt to deflect the attention.   
“I saw the same suit in your room,” Mayura said slowly. 

“Nathalie?” Came Chat’s incredulous voice and Marinette gasped. Of course. There weren’t that many people close to him, with access to his room where they could have spotted the costume. He hadn’t known to hide it, she hadn’t known that it would reveal so much. 

“No, no, no,” Mayura whined. Marinette couldn’t believe that the fierce villain and the composed personal assistant of Mister Agreste could fall apart, but she looked like she was doing just that. Then she looked like she steeled herself and just said out loud.

“Call back the akuma.” 

Marinette looked around frantically, wondering if Hawk Moth was somewhere behind them, but then realised that Nathalie was probably using a communicator to keep in touch with her partner in crime.

“I know what I’m saying, just do it!” 

Marinette couldn’t see Adrien’s expression but she was sure he was equally shocked by Nathalie treating Hawk Moth like that. Wait, this actually made her think about who he could be. But just then they saw the akuma leave a confused man behind and flutter away. 

“Oh, well. I guess we have nothing left to do here,” Adrien said.

“I’ll see you later at home,” Nathalie said and left. Talk about ominous.

“Um, maybe I need to take a look at Plagg?” Marinette offered. She also didn’t feel like leaving him alone after what had transpired.

‘Of course, that’s a great idea!” 

Then the issue with his transportation became glaringly obvious. Marinette sighed. 

“Hop up, Bananoir,” she said as she unleashed her yoyo. She was actually thankful for the silly banana costume between them, because it helped to keep her sane through the ride to his house. But then they arrived and he took it off with a flourish.

“It’s different,” she said tentatively, pointing to the yellow mass.

“I had to commission one since returning the original to Mr Banana was tricky, not to mention it wasn’t right to steal it in the first place,” he said, a hand rubbing the back of his neck. He really looked embarrassed. 

“So, Plagg?” she said to spare him. He pointed to a black fur mass on top of his bed. She approached and gently prodded the sleeping kwami, but it didn’t react. Adrien approached with a piece of Camembert and she gestured to it in surprise.

“You never know. He’s very sensitive to the smell,” he said with a shrug. But even this didn’t help.

“I guess we have only one option left,” Marinette said. Tikki was the only one who could help them. “Spots off,” she muttered and heard Adrien’s gasp beside her.

“Oh!” he laughed awkwardly. “I bet you figured out who I was even before Mayura, uuh, Nathalie.” She smiled.

“I probably would have if it wasn’t for the akuma, but I had to keep an eye on him and couldn’t inspect the suit carefully. But yes, it was just your luck that you’d commission a new suit from your own partner,” she teased him. Then she remembered why they were there and turned to the red kwami.

“Tikki, what is wrong with Plagg?” She asked, back to feeling concern.

“I’d guess he gorged on some kind of fancy cheese?” Tikki suggested. “It happens very rarely since he’s built up a tolerance. But he’s such a glutton, sometimes he forgets he has his limits after all.”

“Oh, yes, I bought him a special treat. I didn’t expect him to eat it all at once,” Adrien said apologetically.

“Like I said, he’s true to form. He just needs to sleep it off,” Tikki shrugged. “Maybe we can wait with you if you want to, Adrien?” The kwami asked then, shooting Marinette a sly look.

“Really? That would be great!” Adrien responded before she could protest. 

“I think the two of you have many things to talk about,” Tikki noted with a giggle and then went to lie down next to Plagg.

Marinette’s eyes locked with Adrien’s and she could feel her cheeks burst in flames. 

“So are we going to talk about Nathalie and her mysterious partner?” She asked in an attempt to distract herself from her wildly beating heart. The smile slipped from his face as he took in her words. 

“It’s a good start,” he said.  Maybe, just maybe she’d be brave enough to bring up the other elephant in the room later on. 

“I’m pretty sure the answer is obvious,” Adrien added and his gloomy expression anchored her firmly in the present and away from potential futures that might or might not involve love confessions and heartfelt kisses. 

“Wait, you don’t mean you think it’s your father, right?” She asked, since this seemed like the logical conclusion, but the moment she said it she was almost certain this was the case. 

“Who else? I can’t imagine her being loyal to anyone else to the point of doing something so evil,” he said, visibly shuddering at the realisation. 

“Hey, it’s ok. No matter what happens, I’m here with you,” she said, shyness and uncertainty forgotten in the face of the need to comfort her partner. She moved to stand right in front of him and took his hands in hers. “You don’t think he’d do anything, right?” 

She meant to him. To his own son. Her own opinion of Gabriel Agreste had changed over time, from him being her idol to knowing he was less than an ideal father to Adrien. But even she didn’t think so low of him.

“I don’t know anything anymore,” he sighed, his eyes sad. 

Before she could say anything more, the door to his room opened. 

“Marinette, right?” His father said as he took in the scene in front of him. 

“Which is interesting, since I last saw him with Ladybug,” Nathalie noted with a raised eyebrow. Marinette saw as they both registered the sleeping kwamis. 

“Well, as you already know, sir, I’m a fierce opponent when it comes to defending your son. Even when I’m not a superhero,” she said, determination flooding her mind. She’d thought she would do anything for Adrien, but for Chat she knew she would give her life without a second thought. 

“This means we’re not giving up without a fight,” she heard Adrien’s voice beside her, just as his hand squeezed hers. Whatever was going to happen, they were facing it together.

“I admire your courage, I really do, but it wouldn’t be necessary. We’re not here to fight.”

She blinked a few times as her brain tried to make sense of Mister Agreste’s words. 

“You’re not?” She asked and she saw the same confusion written all over Adrien’s face. 

“Nathalie just told me in no uncertain terms that this is my last chance to do the right thing or I’d lose everything. And I realised that I’ve been too blinded by my ambition and self-confidence, believing that it doesn’t matter what the cost is, I’d achieve my goal. I’m thankful to her for showing me that a line should be drawn when my son is concerned. I already lost his mother, I can’t imagine losing him too.”

Then he held out his hand, showing her the two Miraculouses nestled there. Wow. Never in a million years had she expected to see Hawk Moth just hand over the jewells to her. She took them wordlessly.

“I’m sorry, son,” Mr. Agreste said and she could see the feelings battling on Adrien’s face. The disappointment that it was indeed his father, the betrayal, the hurt. She was sure this wasn’t something that could be forgotten with a simple “Sorry.” But the peaceful offering had to mean something as well. 

Marinette’s eyes darted to Nathalie and she mouthed “Thank you,” because she was sure that she’d played a crucial role in the way things had happened. The older woman smiled what seemed to be the first genuine smile Marinette had seen on her face and this gave her hope that maybe the future wouldn’t be so dark. 

*

“So Mr. Banana, I believe you’ve seen the footage of the last akuma fight,”  Nadja Chamack asked. 

“Yes,” came the laconic reply from the banana suit.

“Did you know that you have a fan? From what we’ve seen, it’s likely it was Chat Noir himself.” The banana swayed left and right which could only be interpreted as a no.

“We’ve heard reports of the so-called Bananoir before, but we haven’t seen him before today,” she said as footage showing Ladybug and a banana-costume clad person next to her played in the background. “What is your comment?”

“Stay peachy!” 


End file.
